New to progesterone....

by H.H.

Hi. Thank you for all you do on this site :-) I came here after experiencing some very heavy periods and cramping the last few years. I was on the pill for 18 years from age 15 to 33. I am now 43. I had two ectopic pregnancies in the last ten years after going off the pill, and no children. I look back now and wonder if the low progesterone could have had anything to do with it since they never gave me a cause.

Doctors haven't mentioned a thing even with my painful periods. They just write me a script for cramping meds. It's to the point where I can't leave the house due to heavy bleeding for a day or two. People say "get the ablation done", but I say how is that going to help my hormones? I would still have the acne, which I do, mood swings, anxiety, a lot of emotional issues, low libido, gaining and losing the same 20 pounds due to excessive cravings that I can control at some points and can't control whatsoever at others....and never know the connection that this could make with blood sugar. Weight is upper thighs, lower abdomen and butt. I have noticed how much worse and depressed I get in the winter months and now see the connection with vitamin D.

I also have a business where I am a candle maker which my busy season is in the winter. From what I am reading, that itself could be raising my estrogen levels by breathing in the chemicals. I would like to know if I should still stay on the 14-28 day cycle of using 100-200 progesterone, or would you take it everyday to "catch up"? Will what I take in those 14 days make me feel better the first 14 days of my cycle even if not taking it (which is mostly the emotional and food cravings? (Ex. does your body levels come up so you feel better all month long with moods, etc)? Thank you so much for your help!

H.H.

Comments for New to progesterone....

Hi HH Hi HH Thanks for the kind words. 'They' don't seem to know what causes ectopic pregnancies, but ironically progesterone is always low. They don't of course suggest this might be the cause, the following papers include some general papers too, see here,here,here,here,here,here and here. One paper suggests "Greater production of VEGF likely creates development conditions more conducive to ectopic embryos." See here. Interestingly progesterone "suppresses the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)", see here and here. All of which suggests to me that progesterone could possibly help, if not prevent ectopic pregnancies. You are so right when told to have an ablation by saying "how is that going to help my hormones?", it's not. I can't find any studies done on Vitamin D and ectopic pregnancies, sadly, as I believe it could be the reason behind "The incidence of ectopic pregnancy has been steadily increasing in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States.". We spend more time indoors now, and as you have mentioned, you feel more depressed in winter. Please have a test done. We do have a few pages you could look through on the problems you have, see Acne,Anxiety and Libido. One thing I've found is high oestrogen not only causes us to gain weight, see here,here,here,here and here, but increases our cravings too. The candle wax would not help, as all but the natural waxes have a petrochemical base which have a similar molecular structure to oestrogen. Have you considered following a ketogenic diet? It will help the cravings, see here,here, and here. In it's strictest form it's very difficult to adhere to. But this is usually only used for people with epilepsy and cancer, which it does help. The reason being it reduces glucose levels to the barest minimum, and the body uses ketones for energy. It's a very high fat, moderate to low protein and very low carb diet. Only the good fats should be used, i.e. MCT oil, coconut oil, butter, cocoa butter, olive oil or macadamia oil. The first four are saturated fats, the other two mono-unsaturated fats. The best is the MCT oil, an extract from coconut oil. The body converts the fatty acid into ketones, in fact the brain does better on these than glucose. MCT oil forms ketones more efficiently than the other oils. The diet varies from a 4:1 ratio of fat to protein/carb down to a 1:1 ratio which is the easier to follow. The best and clearest explanation I've found of the 1:1 is this web site on the Basic Ketogenic Diet. If you do use the progesterone I suggest using it daily for at least 3 months, through any bleeding too. You will not stop the heavy bleeding on anything less than 400mg/day. But please read our page on Menstruation, you'll find a protocol of nutrients to take which does stop it, along with the progesterone. Also have a look through our pages on How to use Progesterone Cream and Peri-menopause. Just a thought, if you want to try for a child, you're not too old. Unless of course they removed your Fallopian tubes. It would be essential to reverse the symptoms you currently have, which I don't see a problem with. We do have a page on Pregnancy you could look through. Take care Wray

Although this web site is not intended to be prescriptive, it is intended, and hoped, that it will induce in you a sufficient level of scepticism about some health care practices to impel you to seek out medical advice that is not captive to purely commercial interests, or blinded by academic and institutional hubris. You are encouraged to refer any health problem to a health care practitioner and, in reference to any information contained in this web site, preferably one with specific knowledge of progesterone therapy.